Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Latest Drink Recipe

Man, there are few things out there more polarizing to people than creamy drinks. And it’s funny, you know, because I think it’s a pretty universal thing that our mouths just water at the sight of a creamy cocktail. Look at a properly made Ramos Gin Fizz. Or a White Russian. Or Egg Nog. How delicious do they look?

But then there’s this guilty feeling that I think kicks in for most people, where it’s like, “I can’t justify drinking something that contains a bunch of fucking cream.” And I get it, I totally do. Personally, I also try to save up those points and spend them during the holidays.

But there’s no getting around the delicious factor. So what about alternatives? I like almond milk in my coffee. I even make my own at home. But one creamy substitute that I can’t live without in my life is horchata. See the previous post for more on that. Anyway, as someone who has been making drinks for almost half of his life at this point, I had to try making something with horchata.

My partner in crime at Clyde Common is a gentleman named Benjamin Amberg. But we all call him (among other things), simply Banjo. Banjo and I have a great way of working on cocktails together. It’s very collaborative, and nobody gets too attached to an idea if a better one comes along. (I wrote more about this process for Playboy, check it out)

And so it happened that we started working on our new horchata cocktail. And, of course, we broke out all of the typical formulas that we’d both seen on menus before: aged rum and horchata; aged tequila and horchata; variations on a White Russian with horchata instead of cream. And none of them were working, and we were about to scrap the whole idea.

But then we had a thought: what if instead of a flabby, creamy drink, we did something more bright and citrusy? We certainly hadn’t seen that done before, and we know rice milk isn’t going to curdle the way cream would. And suddenly, within minutes, we’d assembled what is quickly becoming one of our most popular new drinks, the Southbound Suarez. Named after our favorite song on our least favorite Led Zeppelin album, I like to think the same stands of a reminder of just how tough this one was to create.

Most Popular Articles

A side project, an experiment or just a simple curiosity that turned into a delicious phenomenon that we're still serving to much delight at our bar, barrel aged cocktails explore the gentle manipulation of a drink's flavors over time. This post details the inspiration, the history and the methods behind my barrel aged cocktails.

My problem with homemade tonic water has always been a flavor profile that was too esoteric for the general audience. This recipe takes some of the positive qualities people have come to understand from commercial tonic water and updated them with fresh ingredients.

Turned off by the glop you find in the grocery store, and unable to endure another long egg and cream whipping session, I set out to build an egg nog recipe from the ground up that retained the character of the orginal formula, was easy to make in a few minutes at home or at the bar, and tasted absolutely delicious. See if you agree with the result.

One question I'm often asked is "Do you have any drink-related book recommendations?" Well, funny you should ask, I've compiled a list of the ten books every professional bartender or home mixologist should own. I keep every one of these close at hand and have read most of them several times. I suggest you do the same.

The problem with living in Oregon is the absence of little wooden shacks by the sea that sell cases of fresh ginger beer stacked on back porches. But with some readily-available ingredients, a recipe I've been revising for several years - and a few free minutes - I can easily transport myself to a little fishing boat on the ocean as I sip a Dark and Stormy made with fresh, house-made ginger beer.

It's always mojito season somewhere, so this advice is timely in your area about half the year. Wether you're making them or simply enjoying them, this advice will help you look like a pro in no time at all.

Not to be confused with the Spanish wine-and-fruit-based alcoholic beverage sangria, sangrita (meaning "little blood") is a traditional accompaniment to a tequila served completo; a non-alcoholic sipper that cleanses the palate between fiery doses of agave.

The world of booze can be mystifying to people that don't work in bars or around alcohol all the time. I hear a lot of assumptions about the industry I'm in that are - much like 90% of what you hear in bars - completely false. Here are a few you've probably heard yourself.

The traditional garnish for a Pisco Sour is a couple of drops of bitters in the foam, but I've never been particularly impressed with the way these few paltry drops of bitters sat in their little egg-white mattress and didn't play along with the rest of the drink. I envisioned a Pisco Sour with a uniformly-distributed bitters-scorched foam: slightly crisp as the fire burnt the sugars, and slightly warm as the foam insulated the rest of the frosty cocktail from the heat. A pisco creme brulée in a glass!

I always love showing up to a party with a gallon jug of pre-mixed margaritas, so I've decided to share my recipe. This margarita recipe is the perfect blend of strong, sweet, and sour. But be warned: this recipe packs a serious punch.

There isn't much I can say about this video that hasn't been said already. If you've read anything I've written about cocktails, you'll understand why this video symbolizes everything wrong with the state of bartending in America today. Watch and learn, but be warned: this one isn't for the feint of heart.

About Me

My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the bar manager at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon.

I've been tending bar since 1996 and writing about it since 2004. I started tending bar while getting my degree in Interior Architecture, and slowly I came to the conclusion that bartending was what I really loved, and that I might as well drop everything and focus on being a professional bartender. Over the years I have strived, both behind the bar and with this website, to elevate the experience of having a drink from something mundane to something more culinary.

The writing I do here is intended as a work in progress. My recipes are like my opinions: they are constantly being revised and refined as I work them through my mind and my fingers. Comments and participation are encouraged, so please don't feel the need to tread lightly here.

With all due respect to Paul, I’ve taken his recipe and made a few modifications that I’d like to present here. I think that soaking the cloves in the rum for a few days prior to adding the lime zest and ginger adds a wonderful depth.

I copied most of this over from Paul, many apologies!

8 ounces white rum
40 whole cloves

Soak together for 48 hours. Add:

Zest of 9 limes
1.5 oz julienned fresh ginger

Combine these ingredients in a jar and seal, letting the mixture soak for 24 hours. Then, strain through moistened cheesecloth, squeezing the solids to extract the last, flavorful bits of liquid.

Actually, as the good Dr. Cocktail pointed out about a year ago, falernum can fall into two camps: those that are a bit more in the spicy, clovey direction, such as Velvet Falernum, and that seem to be a more typical Barbados version; and the more citrusy types that were used in tiki drinks in the US, originally from Sazerac-Stansfield, now discontinued but an adaptation of this type is available commercially from Fee Brothers.

When making my falernum, I assessed my needs — considering that at the time I was rummaging through Jeff Berry’s recipes, I decided to pursue making a version of the second, more citrusy style that would be useful in tiki drinks. Hence, the large amount of lime juice in my falernum, and the limited amount of cloves.

Upping the cloves, as you do, is a great idea — I might also suggest you decrease the lime as an experiment, to see how that affects your spice / sour profile. You can also do as Jamie Boudreau does, and after you strain your solids from the rum, simmer them in water and strain again, then use that “tea” to make your simple syrup. (Jamie also uses no lime juice in his falernum — just the infused liquids and sugar.) I tried it and thought it took the falernum too much away from the lighter, fruitier version I was pursuing, but it was still pretty damn good. If you’re looking to use it in a more varied type of drinks, this might be a good route.

(If you look at the recipe in Imbibe, you might also notice it’s different from the one on my website, in that I’ve added toasted slivered almonds to the mix, for a little more authentic almond flavor.)

Thanks for the insight, to be honest, the only falernums (falerni?) I’ve tried are the John D. Taylor’s and your recipe, and after reading your comment I now understand the difference between the two camps.

I love the idea of reheating the juice to make a simple syrup instead of the added water. It’s exactly what I’ve been doing to make tonic water a la Kevin Ludwig, and it works much better.

Next up on my list, homemade creme de cassis! Not a rare ingredient, but how many brands are really that available to me in Oregon?

Leave a Reply

Latest Product Review

Build a Better ($5.63) Muddler

I was having this conversation with a writer about my new book on cocktail technique last week, and she got on the subject of bar tools. “A lot of this stuff is really expensive,” she said, “Do you have any advice for home cocktail enthusiasts who don’t want to spend a ton of money?”
And I [...]